December 2015

We were gearing  ourselves up to spend our first Christmas in a hot climate when circumstances pleasantly brought us "home" for the holidays. Now, we are cold which makes it a little easier to identify with what we consider a normal Christmas.

We have come home in agreement with our team, our church, and our board to allow time for refocusing, strengthening, and spiritual growth as it relates to our family health. We believe and have been encouraged by those who surround us that this time in the States with godly biblical counselors will produce long-term results that will allow us to be more effective ministers in general, but will also give us the tools necessary to be what the Lord would like us to be in Togo for the long haul.

Please understand that this time is only temporary and that we are in no uncertain terms giving up on what we know the Lord has called us to in Togo. God has allowed us to be a part of things in Togo that our wildest dreams never could have imagined and we look forward to getting back stronger than ever.

Under the proper context, please know that we are willing to answer questions you may have in person, but please do us a favor and get your information "from the horse's mouth." We are pretty open around a cup of coffee or a dinner table.

Please do pray for us. Ask the Lord how to best pray for us and His Spirit will let you know. We know this because you have told us about times when you felt lead to pray for us and were able to identify that those prayers came at just the right time.

Please also continue to pray for our ministry in Togo. We feel that the Gnamssa family has been left in good hands under the guidance of two pastors, one pastor in training, and one female friend to help with the wives. After the recent fetish burning, the family is likely to come upon some hard times. Please pray as Paul encouraged the Colossians in Colossians 2:6-10 (see below).

Col. 2:6-10 (NKJV)
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Thank you for your faithfulness to us. The encouragement we have already received since these things have revealed themselves has been truly overwhelming.

Yours to Togo,
Ryan, Stephanie, Leslie, and AnnMarie

November 2015

“If I was born and dedicated into fetishism, how can I become a Christian?” “What do we do with our fetishes now that we believe in Jesus?” Questions like this and many more have been asked of the Gnamssa family over the past several weeks. Though the answers may seem simple, the cost of giving up Spiritism for Christ can be pricey. The first week we really dedicated to answering these questions, Mrs. Gnamssa #1 (1 of 3) expressed fear. She told us that her brother decided one day to burn his fetishes and three days later he was bit by a snake. After that, he had seizures and some form of psychological difficulty. He then decided to take back his fetishes and was better. We are not sure the actual spiritual condition of Mrs. G’s brother, but clearly, one must approach these questions carefully. Please always pray for us to have spiritual discernment.

Four days after Mrs. G shared her fear with us about her brother, she stepped on a poisonous plant and a nasty infection took over her foot. We took her to our hospital to have it looked at. The infection was bad and surgery was prescribed. Due to fear, probably of the idea of having her foot cut open, Mrs. G refused three weeks in row.

Meanwhile talks concerning what to do with the fetishes continued each week. The idea of getting rid of them were moving in the right direction. On October 18^th at 3:00pm Ryan left to go to the States for a family visit and the girls and I went to visit the family as usual. That day, much of the family and some extended family came. Walking away that day, it felt like everything was going well. God’s truth was shining through and their faith toward God Almighty was growing.

I pulled into our driveway at 5:00pm and immediately the girls and I took our dog for a walk. I never could have never expected the way in which God was about to reveal that power to me within the next 24 hours. Within ten minutes, I went from thinking, “We’ll be alright. I’m a big girl. I can handle ten days without my husband home” to “Oh Lord, I can’t!” On our walk, our dog, Zoé, got bit by a deadly green mamba (snake). Trembling, and almost in panic, I quickly gathered my two girls and my very stunned dog and headed back home almost stepping on another snake. Commence melt-down.

Was this spiritual? Was Satan trying to scare us away from this family that he has had under his power for all of these years; even generations? We prayed. You prayed. There were tears, but God’s peace ruled our home that night.

To our amazement, Zoé survived the night with some difficulty breathing, and a swollen nose. She should have died within an hour of the bite. The snake was found and killed. Apparently, before it had bit Zoé it had already eaten a mouse, so our guess is that maybe it had used all of its venom on its dinner. In any case, God chose to protect the life of our dog. Someone noted on Facebook that perhaps this was God’s way of showing the G family that He alone is all powerful and that he protects his own (meaning us, not so much the dog). When I told the family about Zoé’s bite, they agreed that it must have been God who protected her life. Two days later, Zoé’s nose was back down to normal size and you never could have guessed that she was ever bitten.

Paying a quick visit over to the hospital the next morning, I spotted one of our G family members there with a little girl in a hospital bed. The little girl had experienced seizures through the night brought on by cerebral malaria and possible meningitis. Once again, it was a cry-out-to-God moment, “Why Lord? Why are you allowing this? Please Lord, save the life of this little one, and please use this moment to reveal your love, grace, almighty power, and glory.” And He did. Three days later she was well and released to go home in good health!

The day that Ryan was scheduled to come back home to Togo, Mrs. G #3 arrived at my house to say that Mrs. G #1 had finally decided that she would go through with the surgery on her infected foot. While at the hospital, our pastor here who is also a hospital chaplain was able to encourage her and continue to water the spiritual seed planted in her heart. Pastor J shared with me that he felt that Mrs. G was able to come to her own faith in Jesus. After a few days, he was released from the hospital and Mr. G indicated that he was finally ready to set a date to burn all of their fetishes.

Hallelujah! Join us in praising God that on November 29^th at 3:00pm (15:00) friends, pastors, and missionaries will join us as we publicly celebrate the release of Satan’s bind on this family! Please also join us in praying in the days leading to that day and following:

•  that God will continue to bless the family and increase their faith in Him,
•  that He alone is Almighty, All-Powerful God,
•  that the evil one will not be permitted to irritate them,
• that they will follow through with their decision,
• that more members of the family will commit their lives to Him, and
• that they will be a light and a testimony to the entire region of our Great and Glorious Father.

Brief Buczak family update: I wrote the above over three weeks ago, but am only just now able to send it out. Since writing this, we have moved to our new house in town, Ryan was hospitalized for an amoeba, and hookworm was found in AnnMarie and is currently being treated. While I could write an entire letter on just the last two weeks, I’ll just say that we are so thankful for your faithful prayers for us. Some days, like learning last night that worms were living in AnnMarie’s intestines, we long for “home,” “normal;” but God has given us the gift of very strong faith that He has us here for a reason and that home is not anywhere on this earth. He is in control. He is Almighty God!

Thank you for your faithful prayers for us, the Gnamssas, and the ministry here in Togo. This is your work, your ministry, your battle. Thanks for being our support. May you ever be gaining your crowns in Heaven so that you will have so much to throw back at the feet of the One who is worthy. What a wonderful day that will be!

In Christ,

Ryan, Stephanie, Leslie, and AnnMarie

PS. We are still under supported by close to 10%. If you are interested in joining our financial team, go to www.abwe.org/give and sign up to support us monthly. Our account number is 0134443.

PPS. Work on our airplane continues in North Carolina. For updates visit www.togoaviation.com or visit our Togo Aviation Facebook page.

September 2015

Reality. Ants. Here in Togo, there are all types of ants. We have army ants which hurt when they bite. They’re not quite as bad as Florida red ants, but I wouldn’t want to find out what it feels like to be attacked by them none the less. We have reddish ants that like to live in fruit trees. I’ve heard the Togolese call them “yovo ants” because they think they’re white like us foreigners. And then we have these tiny little ants that like to invade the kitchen. This morning, I got up, went to the kitchen sink, and found that it appeared to be crawling away with ants. For poor Ryan, life with ants disturbs him often waking him up in the night with dreams of ants crawling all over him.

Kabyé VBS

Because ants force themselves into our awareness every day, it’s hard not to think about what scripture has to say about them in Proverbs 6:6-8. “Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.” (NASB) It’s hard not to have a love/hate relationship with this verse. Scripture seems to honor these little critters in this passage, but we want to get rid of them! How can we kill them when we’re actually supposed to act like them?

Mr. G in orange and Pastor Ali.

Like the ants, we, too, have been busy. Ryan has taken on more responsibilities in leadership as well as working alongside our teammate to cover maintenance upkeep at the hospital while the full-time maintenance missionary is on furlough. He has also been working hard to get our home in town ready for our move. We hope to move in the next three weeks.

Stephanie directed a four-day Togolese-run Vacation Bible School in July where 86 unchurched, Kabyé kids came to learn about Jesus in their own heart language. Praise the Lord that several professed to be saved that week, and those who memorized all of their verses were given the New Testament in French. Many thanks to those of you who sent crayons. To see pictures and videos of that week, go to our group page on Facebook, The Buczak Buzz, or read the following article on our Togo team website: http://abwetogosouth.org/2015/08/02/vbs/.

Leslie and her snail.

Ministry with the Gnamssa family continues. A trained Togolese pastor is thrilled to join us and lead discipleship. This Saturday, Mr. G. is inviting several of his friends from the area to his home and Pastor Ali will be sharing a gospel message. Please pray for a clear presentation of the gospel this Saturday at 3pm London time. The G family also participated in VBS. It’s been encouraging to see that the Gnamssa kids memorized the Wordless Book Song in Kabyé and still sing it at home.

Leslie continues with home-school. She loves math and even teaches little things her sister from time to time. While the girls have been fairly lonely this summer, it has been fun to watch as their relationship with each other has grown.

Thank you to those of you have been praying for AnnMarie. It appears that her heart is softening to the things of the Lord little by little. She recently began praying out loud at mealtime. She is also really excited to start up preschool with Aunt Donna again this week.

AnnMarie with a baby on her back.

Items of Prayer:

• Pray that our ant-like business would be Gospel-centered. That we would be always ready to evaluate what we are doing from an evangelical perspective.

• Pray for the Gnamssa family and the surrounding area, that God would continue to give wisdom, protect from the evil one, and ultimately be glorified through the work there.

• Pray for our move to town, that we would all adjust well to living a little bit more publicly and that our home would be used for God’s honor and glory.

• Pray that our family life would be an example to our community as we seek to show others Jesus by our love for one another.

Thank you for your continued prayers and faithful support for us. Heaven will tell of your impact on us and the work here in Togo.

June 2015

When Jesus calmed the storm on the seas in Matthew 8, the disciples marveled saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” We are convinced that God is still in the business of influencing the weather in order to glorify Himself. The day that we had planned to share the climax of the Story of Hope, the death of Jesus on the cross, with the Gnamssa family, the weather looked very much like it would rain on our Bible study, so we prayed that God would hold the rain until the end of the story. While teaching of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, we felt drops here and there on our arms. Ryan leaned over to Leslie and told her to pray that God would continue to hold it off. She did. Leslie prayed fervently and the sprinkles stopped. Then during the crucifixion portion and while talking about the thief on the cross, she felt rain again. “I felt a drop again, Daddy. Should I keep praying?” “Yes, Leslie, keep praying.”

Some of the Gnamssa Family and Komi on the far right

Soon the right moment came for an invitation for Mr. G to accept the gift of salvation by faith, just like the thief on the cross, and he gladly accepted. If you could have heard the victorious laugh that rang out when Mr. Gnamssa realized that he now, because of his new-found faith, can have assurance of being with the Savior in Paradise after his death! Just like the disciples at sea with Jesus, we marveled saying that even the rains obey Him in order that more might know Him.

The week that followed, we shared how Jesus showed his power over death even more by raising from the dead. Another victorious laugh!

As I’ve shared Mr. G’s story with some of my Togolese friends here, the general response is amazement and then always glory to God. They tell me that when they heard that we were working with him and his family, they were concerned for us. Mr. G does not have a good past with missionaries or with other people in general. He’s been labeled as violent, drunk, non-negotiable, etc. One person told me that they even wondered if he had a demon. We on the other hand, have never seen this side of him, which says to me that God clearly and widely opened a door for us to bring the Gospel to him.

The reason I mention all of this is because it couldn’t be clearer to us, that God, by His grace, has allowed us, Ryan and Stephanie Buczak along with our translator, Komi, to be a part of something so much bigger than us. We don’t even know all those who have gone before us to plant seeds with Mr. G, not to mention all of you and your prayers for him as we have shared him with you in churches, in our letters, and on Facebook. This has not been our doing, but we feel privileged to be part of something so wonderful. We hope you know that you have played a significant part in the life of one man and his family. We believe this family is going to have an influence on others in this area for the glory of Jesus! Please continue to pray for us and for the family as we finish teaching the Story of Hope and start a discipleship plan. We meet each Saturday at 3pm London time (also Togo time ;-)).

Work on our house continues at a snail’s pace. We are thankful for our teammate, Jason, who has cut out some time from his schedule to help Ryan rewire the electrical system in our house. No move in date has been set yet.

AnnMarie at the end of the year celebration

AnnMarie will already be celebrating her 4^th birthday on June 20^th. She just finished up her first year in pre-school with “Aunt Donna.” We love our little girl sooooo much. Please continue to pray that Jesus will guide her heart to Himself.

Leslie continues on with school. We will continue slowly through the coming months just to keep from boredom blues as her MK friends are all in the States for the summer. Her arms have healed up well, so apart from the lessons learned about God’s grace despite climbing too high in trees, we’ve almost forgotten that it ever happened.

Our airplane was recently sent back to the States for repairs. We are thankful for $50,000 that various ABWE ministry funds have been able to pool together toward this project. Please pray with us and consider contributing toward the $26,700 that remains to finish this project so that the airplane can return and we can continue reaching the unreached here in Togo. For more information on how to be a part of this ministry visit our website or contact us personally by email or on Facebook.

This email has gotten long, and while we could share so much more with you, I try to keep our letters down to one page and I’ve exceeded that now. Thank you for your continued prayers for us. Our God is the God who hears!

 In Christ,

Ryan, Stephanie, Leslie and AnnMarie